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State Sixpeat: Western Albemarle boys swim and dive wins another title

Photo by Bart Isley

From the pool after races and from the medal stand when awards were being handed out, Western Albemarle swimming’s Jack Smith raised his hands and formed a heart, directed at his family in the stands above the deck in Richmond at the VHSL Class 4 State Championships. 

 

Smith just wanted to deliver. For himself. For his family. For his teammates. 

 

“I’ve been waiting for this for four years – it was the best feeling in the world, hitting that wall in the 200 IM, first individual championship, ” Smith said. “All of my emotions for four years hit me at one time. This year I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. To end like that was beautiful.”

 

He delivered in a huge way, as the Duke-bound senior came up with two individual championships in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke and swam a leg of the title-winning 200 medley relay. His efforts helped spark Western Albemarle to a dominant 101-point victory, securing the Warriors’ sixth-straight VHSL state title and seventh as a program.

 

“He wanted to perform for his teammates, he wanted to perform for himself,” said Western coach Dan Bledsoe. “There’s pressure on our athletes who are going D1 and having to perform up to that. He’s been dealing with that added pressure. To see this tonight, winning gold in the 200 IM and the breast and be on that relay – it’s just super special. That’s what high school sports is supposed to be about, learning to deal with adversity.”

 

Jack Smith celebrates his 100 breaststroke title. Photo by Bart Isley.

 

Smith wasn’t the only swimmer for the Warriors who delivered. Western got huge performances from sophomore Thomas Heilman, freshman Brayden King, sophomore Richard Wang and senior Anthony Garono. 

 

“I’m just really proud of this team there were a lot of doubts, that we wouldn’t be as good as last year after losing some really important seniors,” Garono said. “We performed unbelievable, top to bottom. Freshman class did amazing and all the way up to the top. Jack Smith really did unbelievable, he works so hard every day and he swam out of his mind today.”

 

Heilman was on the championship winning 200 medley relay and also won the 50-free and 100-fly, taking the 50-free in a scorching 19.69 seconds, breaking the Class 4 record and just two tenths of a second off the VHSL all-class record. 

 

“I see it every day at practice and you’d think I’d get tired of it but I don’t,” Garono said. “Every time he touches the water it’s something special.”

 

King won the 500 freestyle and took ninth in the 200 free relay for a big state meet debut. King was unphased by the big stage at the state meet.

 

“You just have to take it seriously,” King said. “Everything you do, warm up, warm down, just everything in general you have to take it seriously.”

 

Wang was on the 200 medley relay squad and second place 200 free relay, took seventh in the 200 freestyle and seventh in the 100 butterfly. 

 

Garono also swam a leg of the 200 medley relay title team and the second place 200 free relay squad while also taking fourth in the 500 free and seventh in the 100 backstroke.

 

Beyond those swimmers who notched 20 or more individual points, Western got huge outings from swimmers who followed one of Western’s guiding philosophies in the state meet – swim hard in the morning. If swimmers can come up with big swims in preliminaries, they can wedge their way into the championship heat instead of the consolation and set a significantly higher floor in the points category. Jack Hathaway followed that approach to significant points by qualifying for the 100 breaststroke championship final and took sixth. Ben Tungate got there with a strong morning in the 500 free and a seventh place finish in the final. Travis Hitt took sixth in the 200 IM. With Jonathan Alexander, Sam Bledsoe, Ryan Kennedy, Thomas Olson and Lucas Quatrara also scoring points, it was more than enough to vault Western to the championship.

 

That depth helped Western hold off runner-up Blacksburg who got a boost from a strong diving performance earlier in the week and third place Jefferson Forest, who set a slew of VHSL records during the meet with an extremely talented lineup. 

 

That comfortable lead also allowed Western to get four seniors who aren’t usually in that mix together for the final relay, an approach the Warriors have been able to employ at other times. This year, Henry Addison, Ryan Kennedy, Jack Burr and Franklin He (who took fifth in the dive earlier in the week) took the pool to finish off the meet and Western’s victory. 

 

“It’s great to get those guys in that relay, it was so much fun to watch,” Garono said. “They work so hard every day and it’s an honor to be teammates with them and I’m just happy to call them my friends.”

 

Those friends came together for a fourth-straight state title for Western’s seniors and continued the dominance of an incredible run at the top for the Warriors.  

 

Sometimes when you focus on the process and meet the moment, you can find that incredible finish you’re looking for for your team and for yourself. Jack Smith did.

 

“This was probably the perfect ending to my high school career,” Smith said. 

 

Smith wanted to deliver. He and the Warriors certainly did.

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